Pondering...

"I don't believe that God chose you and blessed you so that you could heap those blessings upon yourself. I believe God chose you...because He wants to make a difference in this world." -Rich Mullins

In three weeks I will get to return to one of my favourite places this side of heaven... Honduras. And I will get to experience it all with some of my very favourite people. For reasons I can never adequately articulate, the people & country of Honduras are very much a part of my heart. I can't tell you why I have to go back every year, I just do. I can't explain what those two weeks mean to me, and why I use up all the PTO I've only had five months to accumulate, I just go. No questions asked. It has totally captured this heart. If you were able to go be somewhere you love, to serve people you love, with people you love, wouldn't you jump at the chance too? I simply can't imagine my summer without traveling to Honduras. This year I will have the opportunity to serve alongside people I go with every year, and people I've prayed to be a part of the trip every year. Can't wait!!!

Anniversary Pics...

Here are the anniversary pics I promised Karen I would post... Brett rented a limo to pick us up, which took us to The Waters, where he had arranged a picnic to be set up at a table by the lake... We feasted on lasagna, greek salad, and apple & chocolate desserts that were delish! Then we headed to see A Greater Tuna at the Faulkner Dinner Theatre, picking up our friends Phyllis & Lee on the way...
It was a great celebration, and I was completely surprised by most of the evenings events!
{And don't get any ideas... the shirt simply has an empire waist...} :)

A Few Of My Favourite Things

Every Time I Breathe by Big Daddy Weave is officially my new favourite song... I don't think I'll ever tire of it:

Every time I breathe You seem a little bit closer
I never wanna leave
I wanna stay in Your warm embrace
Oh basking in the glory shining from Your face
And every time I get another glimpse of your heart I realize it's true,
that You are so marvelous God
And I am so in love with You
Yeah, so in love with You.

Fits right up there with I Want To Fall In Love With You by Jars of Clay. {LOVE that song too...}

Also want to give props to God for the two best friends He gave me that were a part of my weekend while Brett was off exploring the hillsides of TN on his bike. I love how they got to be a part of my weekend even though they had to travel over the phone lines from Murfreesboro and Dyersburg.
Karen~ The zucchini bread turned out yum-o!
Anna~ You have FABULOUS taste in nail polish girl!

Happy Anniversary!

To the one I've shared the last nine years with as your bride...
you are the most amazing man
and I can't imagine my life without you in it.

Summer is here!!

For all practical purposes, summer has officially arrived in the Mitchell household:
School is out, and Brett is on his official summer work hours {whenever he feels like going in or has a meeting}
It is 90+ degrees and we have officially had our A/C running 24/7 because it's just too hot at night to open the windows and let the breeze blow through
We ate our first official home grill meal of the season {aside from the Rachel Ray meal at Ashley's} - pork chops, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, and asparagus {Brett even ate two pieces and LIKED it...}
AND... I have received my first official sunburn... across my shoulder, neck and back. Got it yesterday painting at the Dalraida pool. Probably didn't help it out today at the soccer field or in the pool this afternoon.
Now, I'm off to reapply another layer of Noxema...

My Mom

This weekend is very special. Not only is it Mother's Day on Sunday, but it is also my Mom's birthday on Saturday. And I'll be down here in AL celebrating her while she's at the zoo with my sister, niece and nephew. {Brett and I are probably going to grill pork chops for dinner Mom. What do you want to go with it?}
I have been blessed with a great Mom. We like to tease her about her middle name, and how she's ends up looking grumpy in photographs (except for that picture above of course). But she has supported me when she didn't always agree with my decisions, loved me during those ugly phases, and has been one of our biggest supporters of our efforts in Honduras {so much so that I am still secretly hoping that one day I will be flying into Teguce and she will be sitting in the seat beside me}. But if I had only one word to describe my Mom it would be selflessness. And, not surprisingly, it seems to be a characteristic that continues to draw me to certain people, and away from others. My Mom gives so much of her time, talents, and love away and never expects anything in return. I don't know of a better example of Christ than that. And I just know that a lot of who she is came from her Mom, my Grandma Muriel, who received her eternal reward before I was part of the family. I can't wait to meet her one day.
So, Happy Mother's Day to not only my Mom, but also to the other women in my family who helped raise me into the Judy Louise I am today: all 3 of my Grandmothers, Aunt Gladys, Aunt Althea, Aunt Coral, Aunt Erma, and Aunt Jeannette. And to the other Moms who adopted me along the way: Susan, Mrs. Dahmer, Mrs. Nesbitt, Mrs. Bierworth, Mrs. Keough, Janet Mashinter, Tracey Mashinter, Debbie Chen, Margaret, Miss Jeni, Miss Sharon, Mama Nomi, Miss Eileen, Mama Pigg... and countless others.
Happy Mother's Day!!

Shout Out

A special shout out to
Seanne', Kevin, Jason, Travis and Adam
for joining the wonderful world of the DPT degree this week
{also known as "The Hood"}
High fives, hip bumps, and hugs all around...
Can I get a woot woot?? :)

Here's to you...

...Mr. Identity Thief Who Sends The Items You Purchased With My Money To Me

I will never understand how you were smart enough to somehow discover my debit card numbers, but yet forgot to change the mailing address for the purchase to your own address, thus having said purchase mailed to me and not yourself. And doing it not once, not twice, but three stinking times out of the 19 transactions you made!! And while I appreciate you sharing your music CD's, Disney DVD's, and Spanish learning CD's with me... YOU BOUGHT THEM WITH MY MONEY!! I would have already owned these things if I had wanted them...
And also a big thank you for being smart with MY money and joining up for clubs so that you could get more bang for MY buck. I will now suffer the consequences of being on their mailing lists even after I am dead.
Your days of wreaking havoc on my chequing account have officially ended. I hope your stupidity of sending me the stuff you had to have means the Fraud Department will have an easier time catching your sorry bootay.

Keeping you informed on the soccer front...

Who knew the U21 National Women's soccer teams would compete in AL?? Definitely not us, so we took advantage of it and went to see Canada and the US play in the Birm on Sunday {and also spent a few moments catching up quickly with our good friends Mark & Lori - love you guys!}
So much fun! Canada won against Mexico 1-0 and the US won against China 2-0. The Mexican fans were in full force complete with drums, cymbals, air horns, bugles, and megaphones. It was awesome to be a part of a crowd that was excited about soccer! True, they were cheering for the wrong team, but awesome none-the-less. {Come on people, it IS the world's most popular sport...}
And to top it all off, the Canadian team came and played Argentina here in Montgomery last night (tied 1-1). Brett now wants to go to Mobile to watch the playoffs this weekend. Apparently we are touring the state of AL along with the Canadian girls.
We also got to meet the parents of the centre defense for Canada, the Tancredi's. They were so sweet {they got the team to sign Brett's shirt for him, and gave us all the info on the players}, and it was nice to have people to cheer with for Canada in Legions field. Before they got there it was basically Brett and I in a sea of green, white, and red!

It finally happened...

I spent most of today in a pair of those oh-so-flattering paper-like scrub pants at work today... Good thing this was the end of a twelve-day work period.
I was doing a team eval with one of our OT's on a patient who was slightly agitated shall we say and had already hit Keinee before we brought her down to the gym. I helped transfer her out of her wheelchair to the mat with a sliding board, and then went to move the wheelchair... oops! The tube from her catheter bag had gotten caught in her foot rest, and POP! It came apart and sprayed the innocent bystander, AKA yours truly :)
I knew an incident like that would eventually happen to me, given where I work and the patients I work with... I'm just glad it wasn't THROWN at me!!

Never Fear

The 80's banana clip is alive and well thanks to Sharon who was spotted with a hot pink one at the Food World on the Blvd this week....
She also appears to be single-handedly supporting the black eyeliner industry! How do you take a pic of your cashier with your phone discreetly? :)

She's here!!

Congratulations Shane & Stacy {Lawson} on the arrival of
Sanora Hadley Whittington
April 17
8lbs 14 oz
22"

Sanora made her grand entrance into the world this afternoon. Mommy, baby, and Daddy are doing great... and she got to spend a few precious moments with Auntie Judy this afternoon. {I went easy and only tested a few reflexes... couldn't resist the Galant (my favourite!)}
Pray for the newest addition to their family, and their new transition...
...don't you just love that baby smell?

Pause & Pray

Brett's Mom is being admitted into Princess Margaret Hospital this morning to finish off her last step in her fight against lymphoma - which involves being in isolation for several days. I don't really know the specifics of it all, but if you would pause and pray for her health and well being today, I'm sure she would appreciate any additional prayer warriors on their knees for her behalf.

Easter Weekend

Brett is off in sunny Florida to sign a recruit, and I am sitting here in front of my laptop, where I've been the last few hours playing on the internet, and loving it. If he were home I would never have gotten away with it! (not to mention that if I had more memory on this thing I could do it all in about one third of the time...)
Easter this year was spent at the Biscuits game, selling concessions as part of a fund raiser for the soccer team's preseason trip to Canada. It was freezing, there were PLENTY of empty seats, no one was hungry for hotdogs after eating their Easter dinner with family, but hey... we won the game without going into extra innings! That put us home around 9:00 and pretty much into bed, after finding the eggs we hid for each other that morning. Ah, the sugar rush of a Cadbury creme egg this time of year! :)
So Easter was pretty non-traditional around the Mitchell home. No baskets. No dyed eggs. No special cookies. More of a reflective holiday for me. Searching for the things that I haven't surrendered to the power of the cross, and celebrating in the freedom of the resurrection. I wish Good Friday was revered more here, and regarded as an actual holiday. I hated getting up that morning to go to work. And quickly announced to anyone who would look at me upon my arrival that if we were in Canada we wouldn't have to be there. I'm sure after being subject to my sourness most of them wished that I would hurry up and go back up there... That mood was quickly remedied by the candy from the hospital-wide Easter egg hunt. :)
And of course, as with any holiday, memories of Easters past: finding my basket behind the living room curtain, getting a green Easter dress in my basket one year, going to church with Mom, teaching the kids at training for service day in Toronto, dying eggs with Susan & the kids, Brett and I surprising everyone at home Easter weekend and getting to hold little Coleton for the very first time, Mom & Susan in Yearwood for Honey baked ham, cooking Easter dinner for the International soccer players, and of course those Laura Secord creme eggs (my absolute favourite ,which, for some reason, remind me of Aunt Gladys.. she must of always shared them with us!)

Maple Leafs 6 - Canadiens 5

It's Go Time....

Tonight Leaf fans around the globe will know if our boys in blue will make it to the NHL playoffs...
Whoever wins the game between Toronto and Montreal will advance onto the first round.
So, all I have to say today is:

"Go Leafs, go!"

And don't phone Brett this evening, unless it's to talk about the game. He'll be glued to our computer listening to it! Should be a good one.

Gentle Reminder...

To those of you ahead of me on Hwy 231 and the South Blvd on the morning commute:

The speed limit is 55mph, not 30mph...

You may correct this with the foot pedal on the right in your vehicle.

Thank you!

Happy Birthday Brett James!

Happy Birthday

to the one person on this earth

who probably knows me better than I know myself

and chooses to love me anyway

You are my everything...

Comfort food...?

Whenever you're feeling under the weather there's always a specific food that you go to.

I remember my Mom making me soft boiled eggs and toast fingers to dip in it when I wasn't feeling well. She had it in an egg cup and everything. I also remember my Grandmother stirring the carbonation out of a glass of ginger ale when she and Grandpa stayed with me after I got my tonsils out.

After my run-in with a virus this week Brett's made me gourmet meals of vanilla pudding, apple sauce, jello, and of course the inevitable ginger ale.

So, what do you reach for when you're sick?

Weekend Away

Things I learned during my time with the girls in Nashville this weekend:

1. No matter what time of day it is there will be traffic in Birmingham - just be ready for it

2. Anna can be in and out of the New Balance store, complete with purchase, in under 2.8 minutes

3. They are actually the Predator DANCERS, not cheerleaders, as mentioned in a previous post... sorry

4. If you phone Fulbright before the first intermission you'll have a better chance of getting to see her while you're in town

5. The volume of Margaret's snoring is in direct proportion with how tired you are

6. Double yellow lines mean nothing to Nascar Nater

7. Mr. Barrel has a great Sunday school class...

8. Emily Paige LOVES her Auntie Judy!!

9. Baja Burrito needs to go nationwide - or at least down here to the Gump

10. You should aim to be home at a decent hour on the time change weekend or you'll be d-r-a-g-g-i-n-g at work the next morning!

I had a great weekend with everybody... thanks!